Difficult But True
by briannamaslover
Summary: Brianna is being bullied by James's popular girlfriend, but that OK until James realizes who he really belongs with. But will everyone agree with the relationship?
1. Chapter 1

They pushed her to the ground and kicked her in the ribs. They called her names and kicked her again. They took a length of rope, tied it around her waist and dragged her along sticks and stones to a nearby tree. On the verge of passing out, she didn't see what the Jennifer 2 & 3 were doing. But she did see Jennifer 1 standing over her trying to add a few more bruises to her bashed body. She planted a foot in Brianna's stomach and that caused her to cough up blood all over her jeans. The noise of laughter from the girls slowly faded away. Whether that was from Brianna passing out or from the fact that they were leaving, Brianna was unsure. All she knew was that she was sore and the world had turned black.

In, out. Right, left. In, out. Right, left. James was running laps in the local park, trying to improve his fitness for the upcoming hockey final. He wasn't doing this for himself, he was already the fittest on the team, and his 'guns' made the girls drool. He was doing this for Kendall, his best friend. Kendall wanted to play for Minnesota one day. James usually ran around the outer rim of the park, but he had left his drink bottle at his house so he was running in to get a drink. Not looking where he was going, James tripped over. Curious to see what he tripped over, James turned around to see a girl slumped against a tree, passed out.n James studied her face. She had straight, brown hair, that in the afternoon sunlight it looked nearly bronze. It would have been pretty, if her hair wasn't matted with dried blood. Her eye had a large bruise forming around it and she had blood dripping from her nose. James thought she looked familiar, but he couldn't place where he had seen her before. There was a rope tied around her waist and around the tree. James stood up, somewhat awkwardly, and walked around the tree. The circumference of the tree was huge; it must have been picked so when this girl woke up she wouldn't be able to move anywhere. James untied the rope with ease. Whoever tied it didn't do a very good job. James walked back around the tree and was surprised to find that the girl had gained consciousness and was rubbing her head.

"Are you alright?" James asked. But he knew the answer. Of course she wasn't alright. Not by a long shot. Caught by surprise, the girl jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Wha-what happened?" she asked. James told her how he had found her, and how he hadn't seen who had done this to her. James sat down next to her and handed her the towel he was going to use to wipe away sweat.

"Am I bleeding?" she asked. James nodded.

"Where?" James took the towel from her and started to wipe the blood off her face. As he got to her eye, he couldn't help but notice the colour of her eye. It was a very beautiful blue. James suddenly remembered where he had seen her before. They had several classes together. But what was her name? Bree? Bridget? Brittany? No, none of those names. Then it clicked.

"Are you Brianna?"

"Yes. Brianna Melville. You're James Diamond, aren't you?" James smiled at Brianna crookedly.

"Yeah." James accidentally put a little bit too much pressure of her eye, and she winced

"Sorry" he finished wiping the blood away. "do you remember who did this to you?"

Yes! She wanted to scream. But she didn't. James was dating Jennifer 1 and she didn't want to see him hurt because of her, especially after what he is doing for her right now.

"No," she replied.

"Should I drive you home? Can you stand?" he asked.

"I don't know. Let's see," Brianna answered. James stood up and grabbed Brianna's hands to help her to her feet. She slowly stood up, but she got dizzy and fell. James caught her before she hit the ground.

"Apparently not," he said to her.

"Brianna! You're alright! I was so worried about you! Your parents are going crazy!" Logan rushed up to her. He stopped abruptly when he saw James still holding her. "Uhh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt you…"

"Oh you're not. Brianna tried to stand up and she got dizzy and collapsed. I just caught her," James said. "Here, do you want to take her home? I can carry her to your car if you want…"

"Umm, do you mind? I wouldn't be able to lift her…"

"I think I can walk-"

"Nope I don't trust you to walk. I'm carrying you" James scooped her up in his arms and followed Logan to his car.  
"Umm, James this is Logan, my best friend. Logan this is James. He found me and cleaned me up," Brianna said with a smile. She didn't know why she was smiling, she just was.

"Hey!"

"Hi." They had reached Logan's car.

"Thanks, James. For everything," Brianna said

"You're welcome. I'm sure everyone would have done the same. See you around Brianna. You too, Logan!" James shut the door and started to run back to where he had left his things.

"Tell me absolutely everything, starting with James." so Brianna began, leaving out the part with the Jennifer's again. _This will be my secret for now… _she thought.


	2. Chapter 2

When Brianna got home her parents would not stop stressing over her. Once again, she stuck to her story about not remembering who bashed her. Because Logan was so worried, Brianna's parents allowed him to stay the night as long as they slept in the living room. Their parents were cool like that, either because they didn't care or Brianna was Logan's only friend and vice versa.

The weekend was painful for Brianna, not only physically but emotionally too. She couldn't stop thinking about James. She knew she shouldn't be, he was taken. Her head said no while her heart said yes. When Monday finally came around, Brianna was glad. School was the perfect distraction from the fight and James, Logan would be there and she couldn't stop herself from smiling that James would be there too.

Unfortunately, school wasn't exactly the distraction Brianna was hoping for; she couldn't stop the butterflies in her stomach when she passed James in the hall, especially when he smiled at her (she was surprised she didn't faint because he had the most perfect smile and beautiful hazel eyes to go along with it. She couldn't stop her head from swaying when he walked past her to get to his seat in class; he always sat at the back with his friends, Carlos, Kendall, Jo and Manuela, while Logan and Brianna sat at the front. The Jennifers weren't in any of her classes but she was sure they would all sit together, and when she fell over in sport he was first to stretch his arm to help her up.

At lunch Logan and Brianna were sitting at a table in the cafeteria, and Logan was making Brianna laugh like a lunatic with a really not funny joke. Brianna thought he was hilarious though. Logan was surprised when her laughter suddenly stopped. He noticed that she was going red in the face and she was looking straight over his shoulder. Logan turned around to see what she was staring at and his heart nearly stopped. James, Carlos and Kendall were walking over with Jo, Kendall's girlfriend, and her best friend Manuela. Logan has had a crush on Manuela since grade 3 when her family moved to Minnesota. Now, Manuela was 17 and she took Logan's breath away. He thought she was the most beautiful thing on the planet and it made him so sick that every guy she has dated has used her in one way or another. Logan knew his cheeks where tomato red.

"Hey Brianna! Hey Logan!" Kendall, Carlos, Jo and Manuela said in unison.

"Hi,"

"Huh-hi," Logan stutters. James introduced the four to Logan and Brianna.

"James told us about the other day in the park. We just wanted to say that you must have been very brave. Logan, you are such a good boyfriend to her. You must have been so worried about her," Jo said. Brianna thought she was really nice but it made her worry about how much James told the other four.

"Brianna isn't my girlfriend! I like someone else," Logan said. It was nearly impossible to miss how he avoided Manuela's gaze and the deep shade of red that his cheeks were.

"Oh. Okay. Sorry, Logie!"

"Anyway, there is a party this Saturday at Dustin's house. We can get a plus 2 for you guys if you want to come. There won't be any alcohol or anything like that. It's a celebration for the boys hokey team making it to the finals so it's a school supported event," Carlos said. James and Kendall fist pumped the air as he said this.

"Sure, I'd love to!" Brianna said, and Logan nodded.

"Cool! See ya later then!" Carlos said as he left with Jo and Kendall, leaving James, Logan, Brianna and Manuela behind.

"Logan, are you blushing?" Manuela asked. Logan gulped

"No,"

"Ok. Bye!" Manuela shot off in pursuit of Jo, Carlos and Kendall.

"Brianna, I'll meet you at your locker. I have to talk to our science teacher," he said

"Ok. See you later," Logan waved to James and walked off. Brianna watched him walk out of the cafeteria though the door that was in the complete wrong direction to the science block. With a start, Brianna realized James hadn't taken his eyes off her the whole time he was at her table.

"Don't be afraid, or concerned. They just want to be friends with you. They really admire your courage on Friday too," James said. "Walk with me."

As they walked, James was asking her if she could remember who attacked her.

"I really don't want you to be attacked again. Or anyone else," he said. Brianna still said she didn't remember, she really didn't want James to be hurt but she hated lying to him.

They had reached the bike shed in what Brianna thought was a matter of seconds, but she knew the time must have gone fast while she was talking with James. James took her hand and led her into the bike shed so they could have a bit of privacy, even though no one ever went near this part of the school.

"James, I'm not afraid of your friends. And I'm not afraid of my attacker," Brianna said. James softly pushed Brianna half a meter backwards so she was up against the wall of the shed. James took a step forwards, closing the distance between them and had his body pressed against hers.

"Are you scared now?" his voice was husky

"Nerv -" Brianna's reply was cut short by James's kiss. It was so unexpected Brianna tried to step back in surprised but she was already pressed against the wall. Brianna closed her eyes and moved her hand to the back of James's neck and deepened the kiss. One of James hands was against the wall while the other was cupping Brianna's face. After about 20 seconds James pulled away. Brianna looked into James's amazing hazel eyes. His pupils were really dilated. His eyes were filled with warmth and happiness, and Brianna watched as shock swept over his face as he realized what he had done.

"I-I'm so s-sorry, I shouldn't have d-done that," he stuttered and tripped over his words. Misery and guilt washed into his eyes that were now apologetic.

"No, you're right. You shouldn't have kissed me. You have a girlfriend. But I'm not the one you should apologize to." Brianna slipped out from between James and the wall and left. James looked down at the ground and started to weep. Tear after tear rolled down his cheeks. When he had finally composed himself, he left to go find Kendall and Carlos. He really needed his close friends right now. James didn't even notice Jennifer 2 behind one of the bikes with her camera on her phone rolling.


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the week flew by, and Brianna couldn't quite decide if she was happy or sad that james didn't ignore her like she thought he would. She also didn't know if he wanted to forget about the kiss or make something more out of it. The only thing she was sure of was some of her own emotions. Well, one really. She was absolutely crazy about James, and she knew she shouldn't be.

The week was really hard for James. He had found Kendall and Carlos but the Jennifers were there and so was Jo and Manuela so he couldn't really talk with them. He thought Jennifer 1 might have been a bit clingy, like she wouldn't leave his side, but he wasn't paying as much attention to her as he should have been. The kiss had haunted him throughout the whole week, all he wanted to do was be with Brianna, and he felt scared and ashamed of his own feelings because he had kissed someone else while he was with Jennifer. It wasn't fair on her because he kissed Brianna, and it wasn't fair on Brianna because he was with Jennifer. He talked things over with his dad on Thursday night, and he told James just to follow his heart, but James knew this was easier said than done.

"That b**** is going to pay!" Jennifer screamed and stormed towards the door of the class room. But Jennifer 2&3 grabbed her arms and stopped her.

"Wait until later! It won't do either of you any good if you get into a fight now. And James will know who attacked her last Friday after school," Jennifer 3 said

"We were just having a bit of fun. It's not like she screamed for us to stop anyway. And fine. I will wait until after the party when she leaves. I heard Carlos invite her and her gay friend to the party.

"It's Friday! "It's Friday! It's Friday!" Logan was stressing over the party tomorrow. "What am I going to do? I want to go but I'm so nervous because Manuela will be there. I want to talk to her but I don't think I'm ready. What if I make a complete fool out of myself?" they were at Brianna's locker, it was the end of the day and they were about to walk home together.

"You won't! Just believe in yourself and everything will be ok. Don't forget, I'm going too and I will be with you the whole time. Calm down!"

"Hey Brianna! I was wondering if you wanted to stay over at my house after the party tomorrow. You can come over before, we can go together and they you stay the night afterwards," Jo said. She and Carlos had come over to Logan and Brianna.

"I'm I'd love to, but Logan-"

"Don't worry about Logie. He can stay at my house if he wants," Carlos suggested

"Ruh-really? I'm so unpopular, no one really likes me. Won't you be less popular if you hang out with me?"

"No way! And if I do, I don't really care!"

"Ok, sure. I'll go to your house."

"Yeah, I'll go too, Jo, thanks for inviting me!" Brianna said.

"Ok. Manuela will be over too."

"James and Kendall will also be over at my house as well"

"Ok," Logan and Brianna said in unison

"Cool! See you tomorrow!"

"Bye!" Brianna watched them leave and turned to walk home with Logan.

"So much for me being with you the whole party"


	4. Chapter 4

"JAMES, LISTEN TO ME! I'M TRYING TO FIX OUR RELATIONSHIP AND YOU WONT LISTEN!" Jennifer 1 screamed. Brianna could hear the muffled sounds of the fight through the closed door. She was at the hockey party. It was a good party, it was just way too stuffy inside so she was upstairs trying to get to the balcony that adjoins the sitting room so she could get some air. Only James and Jennifer were having a major fight and Brianna wanted to avoid her at all costs.

"How can we fix the relationship when you think it's all about you? It's so one-sided!"

"Talk to me when you realize that you are wrong!" the door opened and Brianna hid in the shadows of the dark hallway. Jennifer stormed out of the room. Brianna, concerned about James, but not wanting to invade, crept around the corner and stood in the door way. Sitting on the coffee table was James, with his head in his hands.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'd be better if Jen listened to me. But that's Jennifer number 1 for you." James got up and walked out onto the balcony, and Brianna followed.

"Maybe…"

"Maybe what?" James cocked his head to the side inquisitively.

"Maybe you just need some space and time to figure out a way to work things out with her," Brianna suggested. James smiled at her

"You're right. And you are a genius. But Jennifer is a type of girl that if you tell her you need space she dumps you. And I don't know if I want to break up with her." James looked at Brianna. He took her by the waist and went to kiss her on the cheek. She turned in surprise and James accidentally caught her lips. The both jumped back in surprise.

"James, you have a girlfriend" she looked into his beautiful hazel eyes.

"I know. And I would say I'm sorry but I'm not," he said somewhat guiltily. The he actually kissed her on the cheek and headed towards the stairs.

"Hey, Logan!" Manuela said. They were in the main room of the house, which was packed with people.

"Hi," Manuela lent toward and whispered a question in his Logan's ear.

"How did you know? The only person I ever told was Brianna and… Did she tell you?" Logan panicked.

"No, I figured it out myself. You always blush around me today was the first day you haven't stuttered when you have talked to me. It's pretty obvious you have a crush on me."

"Do you-"

Logan's question was silenced by Manuela's

"Yes," she breathed. "I like you too."

Thud. Punch to the stomach. Brianna vomited a mixture of blood and stomach acid. It mostly went down her front, staining the cream top she was wearing. Jennifer slapped her face and savagely kicked her in the shins.

"B****, he's mine. He's my boyfriend and not yours." She punched her in the jaw, making her bite her tongue so hard she had to spit the blood out of her mouth so she could breathe. Jennifer grabbed her by her shirt and pushed her so hard the railings on the balcony dug into her back painfully and broke the skin.

"And if you EVER touch James again I will do something much worse than bash you up. Do you understand?" Brianna nodded.

"Good. I was so glad we could come to an agreement". She smiled sweetly the smashed Brianna's head against the brick wall and dropped her, letting her body sag unconsciously to the ground.

James looked oddly at Logan and Manuela as they came out of the front door giggling and holding hands.

"Hey guys, have you seen Ken-" James was interrupted by a dark red substance dripping down from the balcony. He was standing directly under it. With a closer inspection he realized that it was blood, and there was a body slumped against the railings of the balcony. James ran inside, screaming at people to move as he leaped up the stairs, covering four steps with each leap. He raced into the room adjoinging the balcony, he opened the door so hard it slammed into the wall so hard it busted the plaster. To his horror, he saw Brianna lying in a pool of her own blood.

"BRIANNA!" he rushed over to her and cradled her head in his lap. She was barely conscious.

"Ja-James…?"

"Yes, it's me. What happened? Where does it hurt?" James was madly searching her body for stab wounds. He thought she might have been stabbed because it was the only logical reason he could come up with for the blood. The only cut he saw was on her back, and there were severaly bruises forming on her body.

"My head hurts a lot. And my tongue too."

"Your tongue?"

"Yeah. I think I bit it when someone punched me" James could see an already purple bruise on her jaw. Brianna hoped that James believed her. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her down the stairs and out the door. Kendall, Logan, Manuela, Jo and Carlos rushed over to see if she was alright. Jo screamed and Manuela turned her head into Logan's shoulder and started to cry.

"I'm going to take Brianna home," James said

"No! I'm really am fine" Brianna said

"Like hell you are. You need to go home and you need to go to the hospital." Brianna nodded and curled up into James's chest.

"I'll drive you there," Carlos suggested

"And we'll follow behind you," Kendall said. James nodded and led the way to Carlos's car.

They reached Brianna's house and her mum agreed she needed to go to the hospital. James moved her to her parent's car, and then joined Carlos as they followed to the hospital. When they arrived, they found Brianna in a brightly lit room. Brianna's parents asked James if they could have a chat in the hall.

Logan took the opportunity to ask Brianna for the truth. He knew she wasn't being truthful. He just couldn't determine what it was. Brianna decided to tell him about the whole Jennifer thing, but made him swear not to tell anyone, especially James. She was going to do that when the time was right. The doctor came in and said she was right to go home; she just had to take it easy for a little while. Brianna's parents asked if no one came back with them to Brianna's house, there were a few things they needed to discuss with her. What they were, Brianna was unsure. But her parents said they were welcome to come over the next day for as long as the like though. Brianna noticed her parents sort of glared at James. She grinned when Manuela kissed Logan goodbye, but Logan's grin was wider.

"James told us about you and him," Brianna's mum said.

"I'm sorry mum. I was going to tell you tomorrow," I tried to explain, but her mum wouldn't listen

"Whatever. You are to stay away from him. You can be friends, but no more." Brianna's dad said.

"Dad, he already-"

"Yes, I know. He already has a girlfriend. That's why you leave him alone. He has been sneaking around with you while he has a girlfriend so if you two are together, who is to say that he won't do the same to you?"

"How can you even accuse him of something when you don't even know all of the facts? You don't know the circumstance that he was under and you have barely even spoken to him! You don't know anything about James, you hardly know what he has done for me and most of all, You have no idea, _at all_ about Jennifer!" Brianna saw anger and shock cross her parents faces. "Whatever. I'm going to bed."


	5. Chapter 5

"I'm sorry, Jen, but I can't come over today," James was on the phone to Jennifer, who was forcing him to come over to her house

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to Brianna's house to see how she is. She had to go to hospital last night because someone attacked her again."

"Okay. Do you think you could take me too? I want to know if she is alright too." James was surprised by this. Usually Jennifer didn't really care about Brianna,

"I'm about to leave. I'll pick you up on my way"

"Okay! Bye!"

The line went dead

Brianna, Logan, Manuela, Kendall and Jo we laughing and chatting in Brianna's lounge room. Her parents were out, but they trusted her enough to be responsible. Someone came up with the idea to play truth or dare. At one stage, Brianna picked truth, and she had to tell everyone who she liked. The, out of the blue James came in right before she was going to tell.

"Hey, Sorry I'm late. I picked up Jennifer on my way here. How are you Brianna?" the sound in the room went quiet and everyone stopped talking. Kendall, Carlos, Jo and Manuela looked happy and said hi, Logan stiffened and Brianna's heart started to beat really fast.

"Hey James. Hello Jennifer. I'm feeling much better now. Thanks for asking." The group talked for a little longer, and then Jennifer announced she had to go.

"Okay. I'll drive you, if you want," James offered.

"No, its okay. I'm headed to Jennifer's house anyway. It's just around the block. I can walk."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow," James said. He kissed her, and Brianna had to look away before she cried.

A few seconds passed in silence after Jennifer left.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I found that really awkward, considering what she did to Brianna," Logan said. Realizing what he said, he swore as everyone else gasped.

"Logan!" Brianna said as she gasped

"What did you say?" James asked in a low, flat tone.

No one answered.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" James repeated his question.

"James, Jennifer was the person that attacked Brianna. In the park and on the balcony," Logan explained

"And every time before that," Brianna added. The whole room was silent. James got up and started to leave.

"James, wait!" Brianna said. James stopped and slowly turned towards her.

"It's ok, my pretty little liar. I'll be back," James smiled, turned on his heels and left.

James pulled into Jennifer's drive way and took a deep breath before getting out. He walked up the path and rang the doorbell. Jennifer answered.

"James! It's so nice to see you again!" Jennifer lent in to kiss him but James turned away and step back from her.

"You bullied Brianna." It wasn't a question.

"So? You kissed her."

"Whatever. I have my reasons, you have yours. But the most important thing is that it's over." Anger and rage flashed across her face

"Are you breaking up with me?"

"Damn straight I am! You make everything about yourself and I'm sick of your crap. And I hate the fact that you bullied someone so much. It's over." James turned around and walked away.

Brianna paced across the lounge room in her house. She went from one side of the room to the other at least 60 times, and then she heard the doorbell ring. She answered the door, and James was on the top step, rocking backwards and forwards on the balls of his feet.

"Are the others still here?" he asked. Brianna shook her head.

"No, they left a little over an hour ago. They wanted to give us space when you came back. Mum and dad are still out too." She looked into James's amazing eyes, but they did their best to show no emotion. Only a little bit of hurt showed. "Do you want to come in?" she let James into her house, and then led the way back to the lounge room. There were a few moments of silence, and then it was broken by James.

"Why did you lie to me?" his question sounded coarse, and hard. It stabbed at Brianna's defenses until she was reduced to tears.

"I'm so sorry James. I was going to tell you, I swear to god. I was going to, when the time was right. I… from that moment I met you I really liked you and I couldn't bear to see you hurt. I didn't want to cause any problems between you and Jennifer and I wanted you to be happy. Even if that meant you weren't with me. I'm really sorry. Please, please forgive me." Her voice was pleading, and it had the same effect on James as his question had on Brianna.

"Jesus, I wanted to be with you so bad, that my heart was already pushing me in that direction before I knew what it wanted. My dad told me to follow my heart. My heart was screaming you, but my head said Jennifer. I was so torn. I'm really thankful the truth slipped out of Logan's mouth. I really, truly am. I broke up with Jennifer. I broke it off because I am so mad at her for what she did, but also because I want to be with you so badly. But none of this makes sense, because I barely know you." James was looking at his lap, and then his beautiful hazel eyes snapped up to look at her gorgeous blue ones. "And I am so freaking afraid that I'll do something stupid, or say something stupid, and I'll lose you forever."

James shuffled along the sofa so he was close to Brianna, and the he kissed her. It was slow and soft, and his lips felt amazing. It didn't last very long though. James stood up and snorted, which should have looked really unattractive, but James did it so well it just made Brianna long for him even more.

"You don't want me, do you? You don't feel the same about me," he said. His voice was drenched with hurt.

"No! No! No! You have it wrong! I want to be with you so bad, I just… I'm scared. My parents don't approve of you, and they'd kill me if they found out about us!" James pulled her off the couch and held her close.

"It's okay. Don't be scared. James is here. I'm here. I've got you. I won't let anything happen to you. I'll never let you go." Brianna was so comfortable. It felt so right, being held by James. This was a perfect piece of her world right now. It felt like she was in a day dream…Brianna jumped when she heard a car pull into the drive way. She broke James's embrace and looked out the window. She turned to face James. "Mum and dad are home," she said in a trembling voice. James pulled her away from the window, and hugged her.

"We'll tell them. Now. Today. I don't want to spend another second away from you, and your parents can't tell you no. You're eighteen in two months. It will be alright. I promise" James looked at her then kissed her for one second too long. Brianna's mum and dad had walked in on them.

"Get the hell away from my daughter, and get the hell out of my house!" Brianna's dad bellowed across the room at James

"Dad, wait!"

"I told you to stay away from him. He's no good"

"Brianna, leave. Go to your room and don't come down again until we call for you" Brianna's mum said. Brianna looked at James, and he smiled at her and squeezed her hand.

"Mum, dad, you need to hear the truth. And you cannot tell me what to do. I'm eighteen in two months. Jennifer, James's ex-girlfriend, bullied me. She is the one who-"

"DON'T COME UP WITH EXCUSES! DO AS YOU ARE TOLD!" Brianna's mum screeched.

"I'll see you soon. Very soon" James whispered in her ear before she left the lounge room and headed up the stairs. Brianna reached her room and locked the door. She looked out of the window and saw James's car parked across the street. Brianna contemplated jumping out of her window and waiting at his car for him, but she had to try to explain things to her parents. The front door opened and Brianna saw her father push James out of the house with so much force he fell onto the soggy ground. It had been raining before, and it was late November. She watched as James walked to his car with is head down at the ground. James got in his car and looked back at Brianna's house and saw her in the window. Brianna thought he must have been smiling at her, but she wasn't quite sure. Within a matter of seconds, there was a knocking on her bedroom door. Brianna sighed, and unlocked the door. _Well, here goes nothing, _she thought; _let's hope they listen to me._


	6. Chapter 6

"James, what's wrong?" his mother asked. She was really worried about him. He usually wasn't sad. But somehow, he seemed happy at the same time.

"It's nothing," he replied.

"James please tell us what is going on." That was his father. James looked up from his lap, which he realized was a mistake.

"Have you been crying?"

"Yes. No. I…" James couldn't finish the sentence.

"Is it about you and Jennifer?"

"Yes. I broke up with her today."

A few seconds passed.

"What?" James's father asked. James turned his attention to his dad.

"You told me to follow my heart, and I did. Jennifer was the one attacking Brianna. And I dumped her. Then, almost exactly after, I realized that I really like Brianna and I want to be with her, it's just…. Her parents hate me and I'm not allowed to see her. I don't even know if they'd let me be friends with her. They even threw me out of their house, and yelled at Brianna." James had a catch in his voice, and he let a few tears roll down his cheek. He swore he wouldn't cry about this again; Brianna needed him to be strong. And here he was crying.

Carlos was sitting at his usual table, with James and Brianna, Logan and Manuela, and Kendall and Jo. He loved his friends. They were all really close, and everyone had a boyfriend/girlfriend. Except for Carlos. He didn't know how much longer he could deal with the loneliness. James and Kendall had tried several times to get him a girlfriend, but he just couldn't deal with a blind date. He looked around the cafeteria. Nearly everyone had their own special group or posse. Everyone fit somewhere. Except for Carlos. He didn't belong here; he hated being the third wheel to everyone.

"Hey guys…" he started.

"Yeah Carlitos?"

"Do you mind turning it down a little? I feel…"

"Of course Carlos. I'm sorry if it made you feel left out or awkward." James answered.

"Thanks."

"Do you maybe…"

"No. Not again. Not another blind date." Carlos looked down at his tray of food and hoped that oneday he would have something special like his friends.

Brianna walked over to James's locker. It was after school on a Friday and Brianna needed to talk to James about her parents. She hated them so much for not accepting James. It really hurt her how they forced her to do what they wanted. She wasn't their lapdog.

"James..."

"Brianna we need to talk." Brianna looked up into his eyes, wanting him to continue. "I told my parents, and…they said we shouldn't be together until later. When your parents can't tell you what to do."

"What? Are you saying we shouldn't see each other?" Brianna was so hurt. In less than a week James had a complete turnaround. He wanted to be with her one day, then the next he was saying they shouldn't see each other.

"Just for now. For the next two months, anyway. I really like you, but it's hurting me too much to be with you when I can't see you. I mean, I can't even text you without your parents fining out." That was true. Brianna's parents check Brianna's phone every hour to see what she has been doing and looking at who has been texting her. "It would make things easier if we were friends. I'm so sorry. This probably sounds selfish but I don't want your parents hurting you or me anymore." Brianna nodded. James was right. it would be a lot easier if they were just friends, but she wanted to be more then friends. Had James changed his mind about her?

"Do you want me to drive you home?"

"No, it's ok. I should probably walk," she replied. "See you later."

_Damn it, I'm such an ass. I really want to be with her, and all I have done is hurt her. She doesn't even really know how I feel_, James thought. _Two more months. Then we can be together and no one can stop us. _James walked to his window and looked out at Minnesota. It was beautiful at night, even when it was pouring with rain, which it was. _But there is something more beautiful…_James tried to stop those thoughts, but he couldn't. He just couldn't bear it anymore. James had an idea. He would plan an amazing date for the two of them when she turns eighteen. Then she would know how he really feels. James fell onto his bed and smiled at the thought of having Brianna all to himself, and then his mother called from down stairs. James jumped up and walked down the stairs, to find a much shaken Logan sitting on the sofa in his living room. He looked as though he had been crying, and he was soaking wet from the rain.

"Logan! What happened? Why are you so upset?"

"James, James, James…" his voice trailed off.

"Yes, Logan, what? Tell me what happened!"

"It's Brianna…"

"Is she ok?"

"No. she… she's missing."

"No, no, no," said James, shaking his head. "No! No! NO! NO, THAT'S NOT TRUE!" James fell to his knees and cried, huge, heavy sobs. Was this because of him? He was screaming no over and over while he cried.

"James, what's wrong?" his mother asked.

"Mrs. Diamond, Brianna is missing," Logan explained.

"And what is worse is I told her that we should put the relationship on hold until she turned eighteen because of her parents," James said. He couldn't deal with the fact that he might have been the cause for her disappearing.

"It's okay, James. We'll find her. Don't worry."


	7. Chapter 7

James was at school, sitting alone in the cafeteria. He couldn't be near the others right now, his heart was breaking over Brianna. He couldn't believe she was gone. He was thinking about where she might be when Jennifer walked over to his table and sat down next to him.

"Hey! How are you?" she asked.

"How the hell do you think I am? My closest friend is missing, and she also happens to kid of be my girlfriend." He replied. Jennifer leaned over and tried to snuggle up to him. James was really uncomfortable, but he was too upset to think to move.

"You should stop thinking about her. She has been gone five days, so she's probably dead. You should move on. I was thinking maybe you might want to try it again with me?"

"Brianna isn't dead! I refuse to give up hope and I refuse to succumb to you _again?!_" James stood up and faced her. "I really don't like you anymore and all I want is Brianna to be home safe! Go back to where you came from." He yelled across the cafeteria, making everyone turn around and look at him. The whole room was quiet. James looked over his shoulder to his friends sitting at a nearby table, and walked out of the cafeteria. He couldn't stand school anymore. Not with Jennifer hitting on him, and not without Brianna.

James was at the local shopping center, asking people if they had seen Brianna somewhere. James was desperate to find her, but everyone either ignored him or said they hadn't seen her anywhere before. A few people who know her cried out in shock as they realized she was missing. James's mother had been trying for an hour to get him to come home, but he wouldn't move. He had to find her and he was scared he might miss the person who had seen her. As school finished, Logan, Manuela, Kendall and Jo came to help him, and they said they couldn't go to school. Especially Logan. They said it was too hard being there when Brianna wasn't, and Logan couldn't bear being there without Brianna. Then a woman walked by and James couldn't resist the urge.

"Excuse me, mam, have you seen this girl?" he showed her the picture of Brianna. The woman stopped walking and turned around to look at the picture. She looked really close and then surprise and shock crossed her face.

"Oh my god. Yes I saw her on Friday about 3:30, close to Minnesota High." James couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"What happened after you saw her?"

"Well, there was a van that was following her, and then the van stopped. A man got out and confronted her and…"

"And what?"

"I'm so sorry. I was so scared…"

"What happened?"

"The man forced her into the van. Then I called the police and they didn't believe me. I got the details of the van and everything. Here." The woman reached into her handbag and pull out a slip of paper and gave it to James. "Here is my number," she wrote it down. "call me if you have any other questions"

"Thank you so much… you don't know what this means."

"It's alright. I'm Penny by the way."

"James." The woman held out her hand for him to shake it but James hugged her instead.

"Thank you Penny." She smiled and walked away. James then realized that he may finally have a lead on where Brianna went and he jumped up and screamed "yes!" James looked at the paper and saw there was a photo of the man that took Brianna.

Carlos's dad was a policeman, so Carlos asked him to look up the details for that van. Apparently the van wasn't stolen, and it belonged to an Atticus Moon, and there was a rumor that he kidnapped people and took them to a warehouse on the outskirts of town, but exactly where was unknown. That day, James was back asking people if they had seen that man in the photo. After about 3 hours, someone said they thought they might have seen him on the western side of town, and he was driving a white van like the one Penny had described. James and Carlos were looking through the maps and there were three possible warehouses where she could be in the western side of town, and only one of them was on the outskirts.

"We have to go there."

"No. no way James. It's too dangerous to go to the warehouse" James's mother said. But James wouldn't let his hope be crushed just because his mother was worried.

"Exactly. And Brianna is there. That's why we have to get her out."

"You don't know she is there," James's dad said. James's eyes snapped from his mother to his father

"I don't have the facts. But I know. Somehow, I still know she is there." He replied.

"We're with James. Brianna is a really close friend of ours and she is Logan's best friend. We have to find her. Please, Mr. and Mrs. Diamond. Please let James come with us," Jo said.

Mrs. Diamond said no at the same time Mr. Diamond said yes. Then Mrs. Diamond yelled "fine!" and told them to be here in an hour then they would go.

James paced across his bedroom. He was scared. He had never felt so scared in his life before, but at the same time he was happy and excited and anxious. He wanted to see Brianna, and tell her how he really felt. Now he was sure he was an idiot, he had stopped this between them, and now he has lost her. But can he find her again? He hoped so.

"When I find her, I'll tell her how I really feel about her." James said under his breath. "I can't live another day without her knowing that I love her." James took a deep breath and headed down stairs to wait for the others.

Brianna awoke in a bright room. It had bright white walls that were tiled and the whole ceiling was covered in fluorescent lights. Brianna tried to move her hand from her side to rub her eyes, but her arms were tied really tightly behind her back, and they cut into her wrists. The door opened and a man wearing w white suit walked in, followed by a man with a hammer in place of his hand. The walked over to her, and smiled at her, like they ruled the world.

"Excuse me, but the rope that is tying my hand together is too tight. Would you mind loosening it a little?" she asked, in a really smart ass kind of voice. For that she got a blow to the head from the guy with the hammer instead of a hand.

"You do not talk, unless you are spoken too." The man in the white suit said. "Rope?" someone walked and handed him a piece of rope. He walked over to Brianna and gagged her with it and tied it to a pole she was leaning on.

"Now, I am Atticus Moon, and you are?" Brianna knew she shouldn't answer with her real name so she was about to answer with Ciara Bravo when Moon started talking again.

"Never mind, I already know who you are. You're Brianna Melville. Now, I need to practice torturing people for when I move to England and when I take over the world!" he said in a very dramatic voice. Brianna fidgeted and then the guy with the hammer started hitting her in the stomach, bruising and breaking her ribs.


	8. Chapter 8

"How far away are we?" James asked. He was anxious to get three, and anxious to see Brianna.

"We're here." James's dad pulled into a parking spot in the car park near a factory. The factory was big, there must be a hundred rooms in it. How would he find Brianna? Everyone got out of the black van James's dad owns, and huddled in a circle.

"Ok. There are baseball bats in to boot, but only knock them out. We don't want to really hurt anyone." James said. "Be careful, and follow my lead. We need to find Brianna and get her out, and try to capture Moon if we can. Good luck." James looked around and got a bat out of the boot. He started to walk towards the entrance with Logan, when someone opened a window in the factory and shot Logan in the leg.

"LOGAN!" Manuela screamed. She ran over to Logan and put his head in her lap. James ran over and fell to his knees beside him.

"I'm fine…just…a sleep…dart…" Logan turned his attention to James.

"Get. Brianna…don't let anything…stop you…" his voice trailed off as he fell into a deep sleep. James stood up and told Manuela to look after him. Then he heard the screams.

Brianna screamed, and screamed into the gag. The hammer handed guy was trying to break her right leg, and he succeeded after he gave up and just smashed it with his hammer. Tears flowed from Brianna's eyes and ran into the cuts on her cheeks. She cried and screamed even more when the salty water stung her face where she was cut, and when the guy jumped on her freshly broken leg. He got a hold of her hair and pulled savagely on it, ripping it from its roots. She cried out in pain and the man took a knife and cut a gash in her arm. Brianna soon fainted from the amount of pain she was suffering, and hoped someone would find her soon.

James picked up his baseball bat and attacked the first guard he saw. Rejecting the bat, he took the sleep dart gun and ran inside, following the sounds of her Brianna's screams. He shot each and every guard that crossed his path, changing his gun every five minutes because he ran out of darts to fire. James ran up flights of stairs, around corners, took on nearly fifty guards and was sprinting down a long hall way when the screaming stopped. He could hear muffled cries of pain coming from the room at the end of the hall. He ran even faster towards the room when a man with a hammer for a hand barred his way. James tried to shoot him but he had run out of darts. James threw the gun over his shoulder and resorted to the only weapon he had left; his fists. He drove punch after punch after punch into the man's stomach, each one harder and desperate then the last. He had to beat this guy to get to Brianna. He was so close. James didn't even realize when he was pummeled by his hammer. James started hitting him so hard he was being smashed against the door, the James picked him up with strength he didn't know he had, and threw him against a nearby wall, sure he was unconscious, and he took a gun of him and opened the door.

Brianna was woken by the sounds of pounding on the door. What on earth was happening? Brianna tried to shift herself into a more comfortable position, but she hurt her leg and screamed in pain. Moon jumped up from where he was sitting and took a knife out of his pocket. He held it up at her throat and waited for whatever it was that was trying to come in. suddenly there was a massive thud and the pounding stopped. Terrified of what was behind the door, but praying it was help, Brianna watched as the door opened, and a very sweaty, bruised but still intact James was standing in the door way, holding a dart gun and aiming it at Moon. Brianna had never felt so relived and happy in her life.

"Drop the knife, and let her go, Moon." He said with a large amount of acid in his voice.

"Drop the gun or I slit her throat." He replied. James lowered the gun, but very hesitantly. "Or should I kill you instead?"

"James, run!" Brianna screamed through the gag, But Moon backhanded her.

"Drop the gun or I kill her. Leave, and you live." He said. James dropped the gun, but didn't leave.

"I'll never leave. Never. Not while you have her. I'd rather die." James looked and Brianna and smiled.

"Then I'll do just that." Just as he was about to pounce at James, he fell to the floor and started to slip into a deep sleep. Kendall ran in holding a gun, and with blood pouring out of his nose, with Jo close behind

"Kendall! What happened to your nose?" James asked.

"Nothing much," he said, his voice thick with blood. "Just ran into a little bit of trouble with hammerhand over there. He hit me with his hammer on the nose."

"I think it's broken," Jo said. Kendall looked at James and pointed at Brianna.

"Go get your girl," He said. James ran over to Brianna, untied her gag and kissed her like that was the last thing he will ever do. James hugged her tightly, and rested his forehead on hers.

"Brianna, I-I-I…." he started to tear up, and he let the tears roll down freely from his cheeks. "I thought you were-" Brianna silenced him with a kiss, ignoring the screaming pain from her leg and her ribs.

"But I'm not. I'm here, alive, with you. And I've never been happier in my life." James kissed her one more time, and then tore some of his sleeve off and tied it to Brianna's gash on her arm, attempting to staunch the flow of the blood. He scooped her up in his arms and she snuggled into his chest, and fell asleep. James carried her out of the door and out of the factory, and into the ambulance someone had conveniently called. James begged the paramedics to let him ride in the back his Brianna and Carlos, who had broken his arm and was starting to go into shock. The relented and let him in, and he sat in the same place the whole way to Minnesota hospital, looking at Brianna's cut face and stroking her cheek. Carlos was happy to just sit there next to James, trying to calm himself down. But looking at the two of them and what they had just made his heart break.


	9. Chapter 9

James was sitting in the chair next to the bed in Brianna's hospital room. He was singing one of his favorite love songs to her while she slept when her parents walked in.

"Oh, my baby! Oh my god what happened to you? Oh my god oh my god oh my god!" her parents started stroking her and hugging her, not realizing that she was asleep.

"I'm so glad we found you! So, so happy!" That set James off.

"You found her? What do you mean _you_ found her? I Found her! Carlos, Kendall, Logan, Jo, Manuela, Mr. Garcia, my parents and _I _found her. You didn't do anything. We did!" James yelled. Mrs. Melville stood up from the end of Brianna's bed and faced him.

"How _dare_ you?!" she screeched at him.

"Did you know that Carlos broke his arm and went into shock just to find Brianna? Did you know Kendall broke his nose and Logan was shot? Did you know I haven't been able to sleep in nearly 9 days, because Brianna was missing? I haven't even been able to leave the house except to go to the Shopping Centre to try to see if anyone saw her lately I was so heart broken. And here I was thinking it was all because of me that she disappeared. Do you even know what actually happened to her? What put her in this condition? And, let me guess. I'm still not good enough for you, aren't I?" James half yelled at them. They shut up.

"You're plenty good enough for me," Brianna said. James looked at her stitched up face and smiled, and Brianna did the same. Even though she was exhausted, she still took James's breath away.

"We are her parents. We only want what's best for her." He father said.

"I'd take that as a no all the way, and by what's best for me, you mean Logan, don't you?" Brianna asked. Her parents sighed, but they didn't want to accept defeat.

"Please, please let me have a one chance with Brianna. I swear I won't hurt her, and I won't let anything happen to her. I know this because I have never felt this way about girl before. Not even Jennifer. I'm not her father, and thank god for that, but I still want what's best for her. And I believe that that's me." James looked at Brianna's face, and the turned to face her parents.

"You don't have to like it, but you won't stop him being with me," Brianna said. James looked at her, and he couldn't contain it any longer. He bent over and kissed Brianna with more passion then he dared to show in front of her parents. He expected her to try to slow the kiss down, but she matched him with the passion, and James hoped they convinced her parents to let him date Brianna.

"Your right," Brianna's father said, "I don't like it, I don't think I can stop it, and now I see that you are what is best for my daughter. But bear this in mind, if you hurt her in the slightest way, I will come after you."

"I Disagree. I won't let this thing near my daughter." Brianna's mother said.

"Well, you have a little over a month until she turns 18. And I think you should give the kid a chance. Don't you remember when we were young? And no one approved of us…" Brianna's father's voice trailed off, but James and Brianna didn't want to hear anymore.

"Yes, I remember," she turned to James. "You have one chance. You blow it, we come after you." Mrs. Melville led Mr. Melville out of the room, leaving James and Brianna alone. James was staring after Brianna's parents and then he turned to his girlfriend. He couldn't stop his joy spreading out across his face.

"James! They…they…" Brianna's voice trailed off as she looked for the right words. She couldn't find them. So, instead, she grabbed the front of James's shirt and pulled his body onto the bed so they were lying next to each other. Ignoring the pain in her leg, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. She thought this was the most amazing kiss they have ever shared because she put every emotion she had for James into it. The fiery passion, the loneliness she felt before him, the happiness, the joy, how she felt when she saw him in the door way at the factory, and most importantly, how she loved him. When Brianna's tongue touched the inside of James's lip, he gasped. Brianna used this to slide her tongue deeper into his mouth. James moaned and gave into her, letting her control the situation. Brianna broke the kiss and moved onto his neck, and James couldn't control it anymore.

"I love you." Brianna stopped kissing him and looked at him. Her first thought was happiness; she was scared that she was the only one that felt so strongly about the other. Her next thought was that he might just be saying that, but she looked deep into his perfect hazel eyes and she believed him. There was no way he would lie about this to her. Brianna didn't even feel the tears until James started to wipe them away.

"Hey, don't cry. It's okay. I'm here, and I love you. More than anything on the planet. More than I value my own life." But this only made Brianna cry harder. James had no idea why she was crying, and he thought that maybe she didn't love him like he loved her.

"Why are you crying? What has upset you? I'm sorry if…" James couldn't finish the sentence. He didn't think he could manage to say that maybe she didn't love him out loud. Thinking it alone tore his heart out from his chest, so how much worse would it be if he said it?

"No! It's not that I'm upset. Not at all. I'm happy. More happy then I have ever been in my whole life. I thought that I was the only one that loved someone in this relationship. I love you too. I just thought that maybe you were saying that just because…" Joy spread across James's face, and he felt relieved that he hadn't just ruined everything, but more happy that she loved him. The idea sounded alien at first, but as he rolled it around in his head he realized it fit so perfectly, it made him think they were meant to be together forever.

"Because you kissed me like that? No one has ever done that to me, and I swear I felt everything you feel for me in that kiss, but that's not the reason why I said it. I said it because it's true. Every word. When you went missing I couldn't believe that I had been so stupid. I realized then how I really felt about you. There is no denying it now, and I don't think I could live another day without you knowing that I love you." James couldn't stop his thoughts now. He was imagining her in a white dress standing at the end of the isle, and him in a black tuxedo waiting for her at the altar.

"By the way, you're an amazing singer," Brianna said, shaking James from his imagination. James felt himself go red in the face.

"It has been my dream for a while now, getting signed to a record deal and being a famous pop artist."

"Why haven't you told anyone?" James looked at her face, and looked her in the eye.

"I did tell one person. I told Jennifer. And she said to never bring it up again because it would make people think I'm gay. But I never stopped dreaming. Even though she said I was stupid, and I'd never make it anyway. She never believed in me." James looked down and the back at Brianna.

"I believe in you. And I love you." James smiled at her, and it knocked all of the air out of Brianna's lungs and made all of her love for him pour out of her heart.

"I love you too," he replied.


	10. Chapter 10

"Logie Bear?" Manuela asked. They were in Logan's room at his house. Logan was stirring, and she hoped he would wake up. He had been out for hours and hoped he was okay.

"Mani…" he said.

"Oh Logie, are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine…sort of. Are you ok?" he asked groggily.

"Yes, I've never been better, actually." Logan opened and eye and looked at her.

"Why? What happened that made you so happy?" Manuela looked at him, not sure how to continue.

"From the last hour, you weren't sleeping so deeply and…you talked in your sleep." Logan's face flushed and it went a deep shade of red.

"What did I say?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing much. Just little things, like how you feel about me." Logan's cheeks went even redder. Manuela giggled.

"You are so cute when you blush." Even though it seemed impossible, Logan's cheeks turned about 5 shades darker.

"I don't even remember what I said though. I know how I feel about you, but I don't know if it is accurate what you heard." He said. Logan was really worried he might have said something that wasn't quite true, or that he didn't say enough.

"You screamed my name, and then you said I love you over and over. Luckily, your parents went out so they weren't home when you said it." Logan cheeks nearly returned to their original colour. "Is it true?"

"My god. Yes it's true. I love you so much; I just can't bear it any longer. I have loved you since I first saw you in grade 3. It just took about 8 years for me to say it." Manuela bent over and kissed him. For what seemed like a long time.

"I have loved you since then too. I had no idea you did too, it just didn't seem possible. I love you more then I'd ever let anyone know. I love you so much that it seems wrong. You are the first guy I've ever loved. Even when I was dating those jerks. I just couldn't go up to you and say it, and then James found Brianna in the park. I was so happy. I thought that maybe I can tell you how I feel. And you feel the same way about me. I'm actually waiting for me to wake up and realize this is just a dream." Logan Kissed Manuela with so much love and passion Manuela was pulled onto the bed alongside him.

"You won't wake up. Because it's not a dream. It's real"


End file.
